Complications
by alyssmz
Summary: Caroline is enduring a rather difficult pregnancy with little help from Klaus. After he comes home late at night from a bar she decides to confront him. Will they work it out?


She watched the clock like it was her job. Every time the hand moved her heart sank deeper into her chest. He said he was coming back by ten, it was one now. Her eyelids grew heavier with each minute passed and she yawned again. Sleep was almost rare now with her stomach swollen so much it hurt. There was no comfortable position anymore so she stayed up watching movies and eating whatever was left in the cabinets.

The door shoved open making her jump. She muted the TV and quickly wandered into the kitchen. He was talking off his jacket when he noticed her.

Caroline, despite her enlarged stomach, always seemed so small to him. She was dressed in tight yoga pants and one of his shirts that was almost a dress on her. He saw that her hair was let out of the braids she had in earlier and the makeup she wore was taken off. She never looked so beautiful than in that moment and he couldn't have felt like a bigger ass. By the look in her eyes he knew she thought he left. And it crushed him that the thought still ran through her mind.

"What are you doing up?" He murmured, setting his keys on the counter.

Caroline held onto the chair, a sick feeling rising in her chest. "You know I can't sleep." She winced her eyes and looked up at him. "Where were you?"

"I got caught up at the office." The vaguest answer would have to suffice. She couldn't know he spent three hours alone at a bar drinking. He sat there contemplating their whole situation. It ate him up inside.

"Klaus." She whispered, shaking her head. "Come on."

"You think I'm lying?" He didn't want to raise his voice because tonight she looked worse than usual. This pregnancy was destroying her and he wanted it to be over.

She closed her eyes and waved him off, heading into their bedroom. There was no energy left in her to deal with this tonight. As uncomfortable as sleeping was, it applealed more to her than fighting.

"I'm not dealing with this. But you can come to bed if you decide you want to talk." She waddled away and picked up her sleep aide. But with her shaking hands she dropped it. There was no way she could manage to grab it. But she would try.

"I got it." She said, squatting down to the floor.

But Klaus caught her in time so she wouldn't do any damage. His hands rested on her waist, pulling her up slowly. It was the first time in the a while that he's touched her. She's been so fragile ever since this started, nothing ever settled right with her. He was afraid to lay even a finger on her, afraid she'd break into a million pieces. Caroline wasn't herself anymore and that knowledge messed with him every day.

"You're crazy." He rolled his eyes and guided her to bed, holding the aide tightly in his hand. She didn't need this. It was ridiculous that her doctor prescribed it to a pregnant woman. He didn't believe those worked.

Suddenly she punched him in the chest. There was no force behind it, really just a small tap. But the reason behind it was unknown.

"What was that for?"

A tear escaped her eye and she stood up, stumbling a little. "Everything! You say I'm crazy, you're crazy!" She walked around the bed and began throwing the pillows off the top. "You know I loved seeing you today."

He sighed and quickly rushed to her, taking hold of her anxious hands. "Caroline."

"No, don't Caroline me. I'm done with your shit." She ripped herself away from him and slipped into bed. "Have fun on the couch."

Klaus climbed on top of her, resting gently by her feet. He slowly ran his hands up and down her thighs before placing a kiss gingerly on her lips. She was always so cute when she was mad.

"I'm still upset with you."

He kissed her again. "I'm sorry." He murmured.

"You know who I had to call today when the crib came?"

Klaus licked his lips, bracing himself for the name he knew was coming.

"Tyler! The man that is still hung up on me even when I look like this! And then I had to explain to him why the father of my child couldn't do it for me. Do you understand how much that sucked?" She crossed her arms over her chest and turned away from him.

His jaw clenched. "You let that scum into this house?"

"Oh shut up. That's not my point. Why do you focus on that? Why can't you focus on us?" She rubbed her stomach and looked up to him. "Why are you making all my assumptions come true?"

"And what are those?"

She bit her lip. "You should know."

Klaus closed his eyes tightly. He did. She's had the same thoughts ever since he moved in here with her. And every time he steps out the door she thinks it. But how could she not with the way he treats her?

"I haven't left you, why do you think I'll do it now?"

"Because that's who you are, Klaus. I know you're scared and when you're scared you distance yourself. But I can't do that. I can't runaway and leave the baby here. So why do you do it to me?" She was truely desperate at this point. Caroline needed something from him or there wouldn't be a tomorrow for them anymore. Her bags could be packed and thrown in a cap to head back for home. It wouldn't be hard to leave if she knew he didn't what this.

He ran a shaking hand through his hair and looked her square in the face. "I'm not afraid of this baby. We've read every book, went to every class and bought out every Baby's R Us out there. That isn't the problem." He didn't want to reveal what really messed with his mind. It was too late to have a conversation like this, too late to discuss such a massive topic.

"Then what is?" She straightened herself up, wincing at her stomach tilted. Gently she leaned her back against the frame, frowning up at him.

Klaus sighed and motioned to her, giving up. "This! You! Do you see yourself, Caroline? Because I do. Every morning I wake up and I see you struggling. I haven't been around a lot of pregnant women but I know it's not supposed to be like this. They glow, they smile, they're able to do things! But your body can't handle this." He shook his head and got up from the bed. "I don't want this baby if it means losing you in the process." Those were the hardest words he's ever had to say in his life. But they were true and it killed him.

Caroline was silent for a moment, drinking in his words slowly. He was afraid of losing her. He actually thought this would kill her. What was she supposed to say when their fears mirrored each others?

"They have everything planned out. I'm going in for surgery next week. All my ultrasounds appear normal and my blood tests come back negative. You have nothing to worry about." She reached her hands out for him and he came, slipping an arm around her. "Ignoring it though won't solve any of your problems. You can't leave me here."

"I know." He was finally opening up after so long. "It's just-"

"Easier not to see me." Caroline finished for him. "I get it. I wouldn't want to look at me either." She shied away from him, curling herself up on the edge of the bed.

How could he confirm that for her? He never wanted to avoid her but it seemed easier that way. When she wasn't around he didn't have to think of it. He could focus on work or any other stupid thing that needed to be tended too. But his neglecting took a tole on her and he saw it in her eyes.

"If you don't want this, then just say it. I could be gone-"

"Caroline." He turned her to face him, frowning into her glimmering eyes. They were a feature that he admired most about her and hoped their child would carry the same. He never told her that. "I'm all in this. But to be honest, it's never going to happen again."

She shook her head. "I won't be happy with just one."

"I won't be happy seeing you like this again."

"I'm fine." She said with an annoyed tone. "I'm strong if I made it this far! Do you think if I wasn't I wouldn't have made it?"

"Your doctor said that this can be your only one." She was so stubborn. He would have to endure her pleading for the rest of his life. There would never be an end.

Caroline bit her lip. "How can we know for sure? The next one will be better. You'll be there more." She chocked out.

So this is what she was hung up on. He wasn't there, this experience wasn't complete unless she had him by her side. Klaus had hardly been in the picture up until now. He was always working or drinking or avoiding this place as much as possible.

"I'm here now. I'll make the last few weeks worth your wild. And then when it's all over you'll have those memories. Everything will be perfect." He kissed her lips. "But I won't be the cause of another one of these for you. Your body just wasn't made for this and you have to accept that. I won't risk losing you again."

"I'll be here forever, you'll never shake me." She whispered, smiling up at him. "But promise me you'll stop this. No more bars or work. Take some time off, I'm sure they'll be fine without you."

How could he resist a face like that? "Whatever you want, love."

"Now can we go to bed?"

He threw her sleeping aide in the trash as he scooped her in his arms. She still felt light as a feather, fragile like a piece of glass and warm like the sun. This woman was his everything and he knew no one else would compare. Although she was stubborn and bossy and sometimes demanding, he couldn't fathom a life without her. And this child they created together, although destroying Caroline, brought him the utmost joy. It started their life together, set them in motion to do something he never had the guts to do on his own. This was his push.

"Goodnight." She whispered, collapsing into his arms. The weight of the day slipped from her shoulders and she was out in the matter of minutes.

Klaus stared at her for some time. He felt the fear rising up in him again but slowly shut it out. This whole time he let his fears control him, knowing they weren't real. But holding her in his arms now reassured him that somehow everything would be okay. Maybe not now or in a few years but eventually it would all work out. And that's what he held onto.


End file.
